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Lancaster boy, 7, found hanging by karate belt in backyard

June 18, 2012 | 1:46
pm

L.A. County sheriff’s deputies are continuing to investigate the death of a 7-year-old Lancaster boy who was found hanging from a tree in his backyard by a martial arts belt.

The boy was last seen Friday playing basketball in his backyard on the 1000 block of Angela Court, according to Sheriff’s Deputy Aura Sierra-Lidman. Around 6:15 p.m., a family member went to the backyard and saw the boy hanging by the belt, Sierra-Lidman said.

His mother told KTLA-TV that her son had climbed a tree that other kids in the neighborhood routinely scale.

The boy was pronounced dead at a hospital, said Sierra-Lidman, adding that sheriff’s officials continue to investigate the death as accidental.